macrides



P. C. MACRIDES GARMENT CLOSURE Filed Nov. 4, 1952 F|G.4 FIG. 5 Plas [lll/IIL l Illlllllillllllll/llllllll 4,

INVENTOR.

PHILIP C. MA E S 20 ATT'Y United States Patent O vThis invention relates to garment closures, and particularly thosefemployedon thev front of shirts of the negligee type..

closure for garments. which is particularlyffadaptable for thev shirt front closures of uegligeeA shirts,` which will f provide the appearance and have the advantages of the so-called French front type of shirt, which will be economical'inithe useof self material, which'may be formed witha minimum of manual labor, which will require a' minimumV of preliminary training of operators who make the closures, which willpresent a neat and attractive appearance, and which will be relatively simple and inexpensive in construction.

Other objects and` advantageswill appear from thefollowing description and several' embodiments of the inventiom and the novel features will be' particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

In thelaccompanying drawing:

Fig; 1 is a front elevationl ofa shirt in foldedcondition, but constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation on a full scale, of a portion ofthe: outer panelV of the shirt at the closure, and constriucte'd in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 3l` is a rear elevation of same;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view ofy a portion of the panel edge shown in Fig. 3, the section being taken approximately along theV line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a simil'ar'sectional view, but illustrating another embodiment thereof; l

Fig. 6 is` another sectional View similar to Fig. 4 but A illustrating still' another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7 is another sectional view similar to Fig. 6, but illustrating still another embodiment ofthe invention; and

Fig. l8 is another sectional view similar to Fig. 6, but illustrating still another embodiment of the invention.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. l'to 4, a negligee shirt 1 is provided with front panels 2 and 3, brought together in a somewhat overlapping relation to form a closure. The under panel 3 is provided with a plurality of buttons 4, disposed on the outer face of the panel adjacent to the free edge, and these buttons usually pass outwardly through button holes 5 in, and near the free edge of, the outer panel 2. The present invention involves changes in the panel 2. In accordance with this invention, a marginal strip area 6 of that portion of the front panel 2 which overlies the under panel 3, is folded back upon itself between the overlapping panels 2 and 3, along the line of fold 7 which then forms the free edge of the outer panel 2. This marginal strip area 6, at its free edge, is turned in between the marginal area 6 and the front panel 2, as at 6A. A reinforcing fabric strip 8 is disposed within the fold or space between the marginal strip area 6 and the front panel 2, so as to run lengthwise of the marginal strip area 6 for its full length, and it'has a width approximately co-extensive with the width of the strip area 6. That side edge of the rein- An objectV of this invention is to provide an improved` ICC 2 forcing. strip which' is remote from the fold line' V7 turned in between it and the strip area 6, and the marginal strip area and the reinforcing strip along their' edgesA remote from the fold line 7 are united or secured 'to gether, preferably by aline of stitching 9 which runs lengthwise of the marginal stripfarea 6: The side edgeAA of the reinforcing strip 8 which is` adjacent to-tbel fold line '7, is also united orV secured to the adjacent side edge ofthe marginalV strip' area 6, such asf by aA line of stitch'-A ing 10 whichl also runs lengthwise of the marginal` strip area; The button hole 5 is formedv through the supere posed layers of the marginal strip ar'ea 6,- the reinforc-` ing strip 8, and the marginal area of the p'a'nelZ overlying the area 6.

In Fig. 5, the construction is` generally simlarto tliat'l shown in Figs. 1 to 4, exceptthat the reinforcing strip is formed by folding Aa stripll of'reinforcing fabriclen'gthi wise to forma fold or edge 12 and this folded, o'rdoulilet layer of fabric whichforms" the reinforcing strip is tl'enj disposed between the folded back marginal striparea' 6` and the overlying part of panel 2. This-4 reinforcing` strip 11, after folding, has` a width which is approximately cci-extensive with the width of the marginal `strip area 6; and is disposed between the strip area 6' and the panel 2, with its fold edge 12 remote from the fold line 7 ofY the panel 2. The turned in edge 6a at thefree edgeof the` marginal strip area 6,. merely abuts against thei double layers of the strip 1'1 and alineof stitching'i'` unites both layers of the reinforcing strip 11, themarginal strip area 6', and the turned in edge` 6a;

foldline 7A of the panel 2 is-secured to the adjacent side of the strip area 6 by stitching 14 which is5^ similar to the stitching 10 of Fig. 4.- The button hole 5 is formedir'i forcing strip area 15. The-marginal strip area 6, along the side remote from the fol'd' line 7, and' the adjacent edge of the reinforcing strip' 15 and they turned in edge" 6a are united, such as by a line of stitching 16, which runs lengthwise ofthe strip area'V 6'. The edge ofthe. reinforcing strip 15'which is adjacent to the' fold ine 7,

is secured to the` abutting part of the striparear 6,'such'l ass by a line of stitching 17 which passes throughl tlie strip 15 and strip area 6. The button hole' 5v is formed' as in Figs. l to 5."

talug; 7, the turned in edge- @extends'intoV proximityto' the 'fold line 7, and the lines of stitching 18" unite the` turned back edge 6a, the reinforcing strip 19 and the strip area 6, along the portions adjacent to the fold line 7 and the opposite edge of strip 19. This construction shown in Fig. 7, however, uses somewhat more fabric than the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 6, but this construction shown in Fig. 7 is more uniform in thickness and less bumpy than the construction shown in Figs. l to 6.

ln Fig. 8 the panel 2 has its marginal strip area 6 folded back upon itself and a reinforcing fabric strip 20 is disposed within the fold or space between the marginal strip area 6 and the front panel 2 so as to run lengthwise of the marginal strip area 6, for its full length, its width being approximately co-extensivewith the width of the strip area 6. The side edge 21 of the folded back portion of the panel 2 which is remote from the fold line 7 is preferably what is known as the selvage of the cloth. The corresponding edge 22 of the reinforcing fabric is also the selvage of the fabric. The marginal strip area 6 and the reinforcing fabric strip 20 along their edge The side edgeAV ofthe folded reinforcing strip 11` which is adjacent to the' portions remote from the-fold line 7 are secured together or united, such as Aby a line of stitching 23 which runs lengthwise of the marginal strip area 6. The side edge portion of the reinforcing strip which is adjacent to thefold'line 7, 4is also united or securedto the adjacent Vor Acorresponding side edge portion of the marginal strip area 6; such as bya line of stitching 24 which also runs lengthwise of the marginal strip area.

VWhile' the saving in materialcost is a prime factor in the `above described invention, the savings realized in operations and assembly are greatly in excess of material savings.V The labor cost of the hand cutting operation of the center plaid is eliminated, the cutting patterns for the center plait are eliminated, the training period neces# sary to train a sewing machine operator in the intricacies ofcenter plait assembly is eliminated, as arel all the ac counting and bookkeeping records which are necessary to accurately post job tickets at varying rates of pay for different piece work. The time required to train a hand cutter is about one year, and twelve weeks time is required to train a sewing machine operator for operations o-n the center plait construction. These labor and expense savings, plus the saving in material cost, are important and long sought.

It will be observed from the foregoing that with this new construction, the useo-f the shirting material of the front panel is reduced to a minimum, and the reinforcing strip is of a fabric that is less expensive than the material used in the front panel 2. The labor required to make this seam shown in the drawings is very much reduced because of the simple sewing operations used, which are a minimum in number. There is also an additional saving over the center plait type of construction, because when using fabrics that have a pattern or stripe, there is noy need for a separate cutting of the center plait strip and the matching of stripes or patterns. This means that the fabricv of the panels can be cut in quantities or many layers in one operation, without regard to pattern or stripe, and there is a saving due to the elimination of the manual work that would be required in matching pattems and stripes.

It-will be understood that various changes in the details and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A garment having fabric panels with edges overlapping and forming a closure, a marginal area of the panel which is outermost at the overlapping areas being folded back upon itself between the overlapping panels to dene an infolded strip beneath an outer layer and along a line of fold forming a free edge of said one panel, a reinforcing fabric strip disposed within the fold, running lengthwise of and in approximate alignment with the strip, and having a width approximately co-extensve with the width of said infolded strip, the free edge portion of the infolded strip being turned inwardly between the strips, the reinforcing strip being provided with a fold disposed in approximate alignment with the fold of said inwardly turned, free edge portion of the infolded strip, said fold of said reinforcing strip being disposed against the said folded edge portion of the infolded strip and united thereto by a line of stitching, the reinforcing strip being also united by a line of stitching to the infolded strip near the said line of fold and parallel to said vfirst line of stitching, and button hole stitching formed in and uniting said outer layer, said reinforcing strip, and said infolded strip, and disposed between said lines of stitching.

2. A garment having fabric panels with edges overlapping and forming a closure, a marginal area of the panel which is outermost at the overlapping areas being folded back upon itself between the overlapping panels to dene an infolded strip beneath an outer layer and along a line of fold forming a free edge of said one panel, a reinforcing fabric strip disposed within the fold, running lengthwise of and in approximate alignment with the strip, and having a width approximately co-extensive with the width of said infolded strip, the free edge portion of the infolded strip being turned inwardly between the strips, the edges of said reinforcing strip being stitched along both of its side edge portions to said infolded strip, and button hole stitching formed in and uniting said outer layer, said reinforcing strip, and said'infolded strip, and disposed between said stitched side edges of said reinforcing strip.

3. The garment as set forth in claim 2, said reinforcing strip comprising a strip of fabric folded lengthwise at approximately midway between its sides, and disposed With its line of fold approximately aligned with the fold of said inwardly turned, free edge of said infolded strip.

4. The garment as set forth in claim 2, said reinforcing strip having its edge that lies along said inwardly turned free edge portion of the infolded strip, disposed between said infolded strip and its said inwardly turned free edge portion.

5. The garment as set worth in claim 2, said reinforcing strip having its edge portion along said infolded strip turned'back upon itself along and abutting said inturned free edge portion of the infolded strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 4, 1938 

